Big field now in a league of their own

The inaugural event of the new Albany & Districts Tennis League was a resounding success, with 50 players hitting the courts for the doubles at Lawley Park Tennis Club on Sunday.

The league, which is a new initiative introduced by local coach Vincent Brochard and supported by the Lower Great Southern Tennis Association, had A and B-grade men’s and ladies’ doubles divisions at the first outing.

Players began in round-robin matches to determine final rankings and then contested semifinals, finals or consolation matches, where points for the overall six-event series were collected on the day.

The pairing of Ross Truscott and Dan Burke were in supreme touch in the men’s A-grade, sweeping the competition with their quality and taking overall honours comfortably.

Jarrod Capararo and Jack Hodgkinson were runners-up, edging out Brochard and Les Bairstow by the narrowest of margins while Nelson Stanborough and Sam Graham were fourth. There was an brilliant display in the ladies’ A-grade as experienced pair Claire King and Alex Riggall won the main draw final over Jenny Rickerby and Lilly Wilshire.

Kellie Bairstow and Jackie Brennan took out the ladies’ A-grade consolation event, with a come-from-behind win over Katrina Perich and Vanessa Hillman.

Big numbers competed in men’s B-grade, which was split into two divisions, and the main-draw final was an entertaining contest. Trevor Scott and Barry Atkinson won from Greg Cooke and Jens Barsland in a seesawing match.

At six games all a tie break was needed to decide the game, as Scott and Atkinson prevailed seven points to four.

In the consolation final, Tony Jones and Simon Sanderson had a comfortable win over Gerry Skinner and Chris Wornum. LGSHA president Les Bairstow said the first event was a huge success.

“We were thrilled with the high number of entries to kick off the summer of tennis in Albany,” he said.

The second event in the league is on Sunday, November 17 featuring men’s and ladies’ singles, with entries closing on November 15.